Inheritance
by shane.mc
Summary: the aftermath of the battle at the burning plains. warning, Roran died. i think it's a little OOC for eragon. and i don't own eragon.


A/N: in this story, Roran is dead. He died because I never really liked him and something along that line. This is my first attempt, so I hope you people out there like it.

Eragon stood at the plateau where he fought with Murtagh. It had been days after the battle at the burning plains. However, it seemed to him as though it was yesterday. His eyes glazed as the horror of the past days swept through his mind; ravaging it. He had been thinking a lot the past few days. He knows that he had changed; from the innocent farm boy to a fugitive, to an apprentice and finally, a rider. The people he knew from his past now hold him in awe. The people, those who opposed Galbatorix, see him as hope and a savior. All that people see now is Eragon, the mighty shadeslayer. Nobody bothered to get to know Eragon as he is. The people that really bothered to know him are so few that it takes less than ten fingers to count. Aside from Saphira, the only person who knows him best was now dead.

'Roran' thought Eragon. 'Why did you, of all people, have to die? Why! Why must you try to be a hero?' Such thoughts are now his companions, they ran through his head, screaming at him each time he thought of his cousin. The horrible image of Roran dying was burned into his memory and it is replaying in his head, over and over again; tormenting him immensely.

Flashback to the battle

Roran was crawling towards the Twins with his hammer in his hands. His intention was obvious to both Murtagh and Eragon as they had a bird's eye view of the entire battle. He was about to cast a spell to send his cousin to safety when he was stopped by Murtagh. He gave his word to Eragon as a rider and swore in the ancient language to not hurt Roran or warn the Twins. Both riders put aside their own battle and watch Roran crept behind the Twins and killing them with a vicious blow on the head. Roran then planted his foot on the corpses of his foes, lifted his hammer over his head and bellowed his victory. It was there and then that he met his end. With his back to the king's camp, Roran had absolutely no idea that a soldier had crept up behind him and slit his throat. It all happened so quickly that Roran did not even have a chance to defend himself.

End of flashback.

'_Enough! Eragon. Enough is enough. You have mourned for the loss of your cousin long enough. It is time to move on and leave you pain behind. I tried my very best to comfort you. Yet you shut me out. Do you want to lose me too? I'm sure Roran wouldn't want you to place the lives of the people of Carvahall in danger by neglecting your duty to the Varden', _chided Saphira

'_You do not understand. I grew up with him. If it wasn't for me, Roran would still be alive. If I hadn't been stupid enough to believe Murtagh's lies, Roran would still be alive. Garrow is dead and now Roran is too. Tell me, Saphira, what am I to do? What else can I do? There is nothing more painful than watching your brother died. Even though he is my cousin, he is always a brother to me. On top of that, Murtagh, my best friend betrayed me. He tried to kill me.'_

Knowing that Eragon is inconsolable at the moment, Saphira took flight and severed the mental link between her and her rider. After ten minutes, Saphira landed five feet away from Arya's tent, sticking her head into the tent without warning.

Arya looked up, surprised at Saphira's sudden appearance. 'Is there something I can do to help you?' asked Arya.

'Actually… Yes. Eragon is and has been an emotional wreck ever since the betrayal of Murtagh and the death of his cousin. He wouldn't listen to reason and refuse to let go of his pain by turning it into something which he can draw strength on. He has been going back to the plateau where he battled Murtagh for the past week. Each time all he does is brood, scream and curl up into a ball sobbing. Only you can help him. Believe it or not, you're the only that can. Would you help him?'

'Of course I would.' Although Arya knew that the death of Roran have affected Eragon deeply, she doubt it was to the extent of Saphira's description. Nevertheless, she got up on Saphira's back and head to the plateau.

Meanwhile,

"Upon my word as a rider my arse!" snarled Eragon under his breath. It was obvious who had tipped the soldier off. "Murtagh! You filthy piece of work! You lousy piece of shit! You swore a god-damn oath to not harm Roran! I treated you as my best friend damn it! My BEST friend! And this is how u repay me?" yelled Eragon into the air, venting his anger.

Eragon curled up into a ball, squeezing his eyes tightly, wishing that the pain and the memory will disappear. He did not care if Saphira did not replied to what he had just said. He felt better knowing that there was someone to know what is going on inside his head; but that did not lessen the pain or the guilt for that matter. He was so caught up in his pain that he failed to notice the light pattering of footsteps heading his direction.

When Saphira turned up at her tent telling her that Eragon is and has been having major emotional breakdowns, she doubted the dragon's words. It was when she got off Saphira's back that Arya realise that Eragon is a total mess as she heard him yelling and swearing; using profanities that she know he would never utter. She ran in the direction of the screams to find Eragon curled up in a ball; lying on the ground, sobs wrecking his shoulders. A tidal wave of emotions hit her. She cared for him more than she let on; more than everyone thinks she does. Although she wasn't sure of her feelings towards Eragon, she was sure that she cared for him more than a friend would. It hurts her to see him like this. She ran over to him but stopped short a few feet away; unsure of what words she could say to comfort him.

Arya wasn't sure how was she going to go about comforting the young rider. She knew that he took the death of his cousin rather hardly, but never in her wildest imagination would she guess that it was this bad. Abandoning all hesitancy, she ran towards him and pulled him into an embrace; hoping that her presence would be enough to comfort him when words failed.

Still wallowing in his misery, Eragon allowed himself to be pulled into the embrace without bothering to find out who that person is. Feeling strangely comforted by the embrace, he began to bare his soul; and there was no stopping him once he starts. He talked about everything. Garrow's death, his confusion and pride at being the first rider in a century, Brom's death, Saphira, how much he learned under Oromis. He finally came to Roran's death and Murtagh's betrayal. How he cried. He cried over the death of those close to him. He cried over Murtagh's betrayal. The hardest he cried was when he remembered his superb inappropriate way of expressing his feelings for Arya and her rejection. At this point, Eragon was inconsolable. His words were strung together and almost incoherent.

Arya listened to Eragon's rant, knowing that he had kept everything to himself and it's time for him to let all of it out. She stroked his back rhythmically, hoping that this action would calm the boy down. After several hours, she could feel the tension and anger leaving Eragon's body; leaving behind a drained and somewhat more relaxed Eragon. Feeling way better now that he had let everything out, Eragon realized the scent of the one holding him was very familiar, intoxicating and forbidden. Having a bad feeling about it, he pulled out of the embrace to take a good look at the other person. Heat rushed to his face, dusting it pink, when he realized that Arya was the one holding him all this while, comforting him.

His gaze went from her face to her shoulders only to find that the fabric on one shoulder was soaked, with his tears. He tried to recall all that he had told her and came to a conclusion that he could only remember vaguely. He hoped fervently that during his breakdown, he did not confess how he felt when she rejected him. He knew that ever since his confession, which is highly inappropriate, she never actively seek his company; the conversations they had were always short and they never strayed from the main point. He was glad that she was there to hold him and comfort him at the lowest point of his life but he could not help wondering why she was here. It's nigh impossible to get to the plateau, even for an elf, without the help of a dragon.

Hurt flashed in Arya's eyes when she felt him pulling away; it was quickly replaced by her usual mask of calm. Against her better judgment, Arya know that she enjoyed embracing him and it felt good. Knowing Eragon like she does, she could not help but wonder what made him pull away and mentally kicked herself for concentrating more on how good it feels than comforting him. She felt his gaze on his shoulder and fingered the fabric. It was then that she realized that it was wet. Taking in her surroundings, she noticed that the sun was setting and it's time for them to leave.

"Eragon, it's time to leave. Are you feeling better?" asked Arya softly. Eragon snapped out of his dazed at the sound of her voice and moved awkwardly out of the embrace. Blood flooded his face as he was reminded of the fact that they are still embracing each other and how close they are. After his confession, Arya had maintained a distance; even during their conversations, she would stand at least a foot away from him. Eragon wondered when he will ever get a chance to be this close to Arya again.

"Ye…Yes. I…I'm feeling better. Thannnn….thank you." stuttered the still blushing Eragon, wishing that he hadn't broken the embrace so quickly. He finally experienced what it is like to be held by Arya but only in the worst circumstance. In his dictionary, breaking down in front of Arya is definitely not the best way to get her to accept his love and him. At this point, he felt like confessing all over again but he did not; fearing that whatever left of their friendship would shatter.

'Could his face get any redder? Maybe if I was to tease him a little, it would turn so red that no man or elf had ever seen. But then again, he had had a hard enough time as it is, teasing him now would be highly inappropriate. I really should keep my distance so as to save him from having his heart broken again and not let this strange feeling overcome me.' Arya thought as she watched his evident embarrassment with amusement. However, she chose to ignore the fact that he is still blushing to spare him further embarrassment.

"Call Saphira and tell her that you are ready to leave. I suggest that you apologized to her for your behavior was way out of line. Even the strong bond between dragon and rider may not withstand such strain over such a long period." She chided gently.

"Ok." was all Eragon could muster. After all, nobody enjoys being chided, much less from the object of their crush. 'Saphira, I need you to take me and Arya back to the camp. Nasuada must be out of her mind with worry at the disappearance of me and Arya.'

'So you are willing to talk to me now. Fine. I shall take the two of you back.'

Eragon flinched at her cold tone and bitter words.

'I also want to apologize for venting my rage on you. It is not right of me to do so; I shouldn't have shut you out for such a long time. You are right, I should move on; and I will.'

'Seems to me as though Arya did manage to get some sense into you this afternoon. Way more than I have, and I have been at it for the entire week. Although I don't remember hearing her voice, all I could hear was yours; and they were incoherent.'

'Stop teasing me. You know how I feel about her. You know, she could not reach this place without the help of a dragon. Did you have a hand in this? I made a complete fool out of myself in front of her. Damn. Now I'll never stand a chance with her, not with such an image.'

'She hugged you didn't she. It shows that she cared. With regards to your image, I think it was shattered on a particular night in Ellesmera. I'm sure you remember when. Yes. I do have a hand in this. I was the one who asked her to come and brought her here. I know that she is the only one who you will listen to and the one who can save you from drowning in your misery and get you to move on.'

Eragon cringed at the mention of that fateful night. He could remember clearly the events of that night. He had confessed to her in the most inappropriate way, at the worst time, under the influence of magic. The feeling soon left when Saphira mentioned him being embraced by Arya; a goofy smile lighting up his features.

'How did you know? I did not see you around.'

'I do posses the sense of sight you know; a rather remarkable one in fact. Besides, it's normal for her to comfort you in that manner as she did not know what words to say or what to do other than embracing you; giving you a shoulder to cry on. Do you really expect her to literally slap you out of your misery? You're so caught up in your misery that you would not even notice an entire army charging at you.'

'You are right, I'm sorry. It's just really special and weird; given all that happened before. I hope things between us would not be more awkward than they already are.'

'I don't think so little one. All will be fine, so quit worrying. Come on now, Arya has been waiting.'

Arya watched as Eragon approached Saphira. She kept her distance, knowing that the two needed a little time alone to reconcile. She wondered what Saphira told Eragon when she saw him cringed and smiling goofily. Her mind drifted to the day's events. She was already worried when Eragon was missing for the entire week, returning to his tent in the middle of the night only to leave before the sun rises. Saphira could not have chosen a better time to approach her. In her mind, she replayed all that transpired after she found Eragon. Somehow, it felt right to embrace him. Seeing him this upset made her wished that she could share his pain and relieve him of it. She knew that she should keep her distance and comfort him with words and such. But, being rational was the last thing on her mind when she saw the pain he was going through. In fact, all rational thoughts fled the moment she saw him on the ground all curled up. 'I shall keep the fact that I'm returning to Ellesmera from Eragon for now' she decided. 'This will spare him the pain of losing the emotional support of a friend. After all, he is drained and had been through much more than rider his age had.' thought Arya, unwilling to admit, even to herself, that she needed Eragon as much as he needed her. Arya snapped out of her thoughts when Eragon beckoned her to join him on Saphira's back. Together, they flew back to camp.


End file.
